


Six Months and More

by socceruswnt



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-20 14:03:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11336991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/socceruswnt/pseuds/socceruswnt
Summary: Alex thought it would be a simple six months in France and then back to the US. She hadn't thought of the possibility of becoming too close with a new teammate.





	1. My Time in Lyon

**Author's Note:**

> I got bored one day and I saw there aren't anything on Alex/Eugenie. I wrote this originally as a oneshot but instead I may add to this as a friend has been helping me with possible ideas. This is my first attempt and first piece of work being uploaded on here so I apologise if it's crap and for any errors you may encounter. :)
> 
> \- L

My contract with Lyon was scheduled for six months - six months and then I would be moving back to the States to play for the Pride. But what I didn’t know was that I would end up leaving something in France that made me happier than I had ever been.

Making the decision to play in Europe was the easiest part. The hardest..well, moving to a whole new life. I spoke to anyone who had played aboard - Hope, Ali, Ashlyn, Pinoe, Christen and Tobin, to see how they adjusted to a new environment. Even Abby told me to go for it. The talks left me anticipated for my next adventure, but still, the jitters churned in my stomach as my flight took off from LAX. I watched from my seat window as we flew over America to the ocean, headed towards the place that would show me something I was missing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I opened my eyes when the sun seeped under the window blind. I breathed in deeply and brought my hands to my eyes, rubbing sleep out of them before looking at the imbedded seat TV screen in front of me. On the screen showed the flight directions and where the plane was currently at. Looking at the numbers in the corner, I had 5 more hours until landing. I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I rummaged through my backpack and took out my headphones, propping them on before selecting one of my game-day playlists, as though I was getting ready for a big game. I then opened the blind and watched as the sun slowly began to set, nerves were already setting heavily in my stomach. 

5 hours later, the sun had gone and I was trying to successfully find the baggage claim. After ending up accidentally walking through an opposite corridor, I had collected my luggage and wheeled them towards the exit. I was greeted by a man and walked over to the few fans that were standing to the side. I signed the shirts and American flag, as well as having my picture taken before heading back to my luggage and the last doors before outside slid open, the deep cold air of Lyon hit me and I had tried to conceal my shivers as I climbed into the car.

The first thing I needed was a medical check up and to officially sign some papers. That however was left until the morning, where I was introduced to specialists who were examining my body for anything to suggest I wouldn’t be fit to play the upcoming Lyon match. I was given a clear, aside from obvious jetlag, and the next stop was searching through rows of boxes for my new club team kit.

Next up was apartment searching, or should I say ‘flat’ searching. It didn’t take me long to find a cute little apartment that had large windows, leaving me with a stunning view of the morning sunrise. I unpacked all the belongings I had brought with me and snacked on some food that had been delivered. 

Settling into Lyon wasn’t as bad as I thought, from the glimpses I had snatched of the city during my travels, it was certainly breathtaking. However, that didn’t mean I knew what my experience with my new teammates would be like. From my short visit in November, everyone seemed lovely and welcoming. Most faces I knew from playing against with the national team, but this time it was different - I was now a player for Olympique Lyonnais, the newbie in the most prestige women’s soccer team in France, competing for game time and starts as soon as my cleats stepped onto the training ground. 

My first game was an away game against Guingamp and surprisingly I was starting. I joined one of France’s best strikers up top, Eugenie Le Sommer. Although we were both forwards, we hadn’t had much time to get to know each other. My game wasn’t perfect, knowingly from the inability to adjust to playing there fast enough, but I got a few touches and assisted one of Eugenie’s goals before being subbed off.

My second game wasn’t much better. I was able to run with the ball but I couldn’t seem to get it into the net. Playing in Parc Olympique Lyonnais helped soften my disappointment as it was a brilliant stadium, it was huge. There were also a lot of fans that were cheering for the team which boosted our home advantaged against Marseille.

In my third game I had come on as a substitute for Ada. My touches still weren’t enough to get myself a goal but I needed to be patient. They would soon start rolling in when I was ready. The game ended with us taking away another victory, winning 5-2 against Juvisy. This was our last game before the international break.

Many of us flew to America - with Germany, France and England competing against the US in the Shebelieves tournament. The whole thing ended in defeat for the US as we ended up in last place. I flew back to France, disheartened by the loses and having not received much game time. The first thing I did when I got to my apartment in Lyon was take a long nap, I didn’t need to be back at training for a few more days. Those coming free days were spent exploring the city with her.

The more matches I played, the more I grew to love the sport I had dedicated my life to again. I was scoring goals, finally, my game was improving and my french was getting better. I was becoming fast friends with many players, even being invited to outings with them. But at the end of the day no one knew I would end up alone in her house.

My first Champions League match was against Wolfburg. In training, I had been working on my ability to steal the ball, and defend. This proved effective when I took part in some important tackles, stopping chances. The game ended 2-0 to Lyon, a good result but it wasn’t over. We played them again 6 days later, and it was a fight to keep them away. Luckily, they only scored once, which allowed Lyon to move forward to the semi finals against Manchester City. The US dubbed this a hardcore match, two American’s fighting for a place in the Champions League final - Me versus Carli Lloyd. 

To say I wasn’t nervous would be a lie. I mean, I knew Lyon were capable of beating them. But to face a teammate from the national team, in Europe, gave the clash an extra sense of importance. I couldn’t seen to calm my nerves in the changing rooms. They seemed to get worse as we went to line up in the tunnel. The hand suddenly grasped in mine made me stop on look down, then to the face of the owner. She smiled and gave my hand a squeeze, before walking in front of me to her spot. I watched her, a small smile appearing on face, then a nudge on the shoulder and a knowing grin from Ada brought me back to the job at hand - making sure we get to the finals.

Two games against Man City and we were finalists. I was ecstatic, having already won the French Division 1 league a few games later. Our focus was then moved to the Coupe De France. I didn’t get part in the final of the tournament, having injured my hamstring against PSG during the league. Dressed in clubs tracksuit and large jacket, I sat on the bench on support for my teammates - but my eyes would always find her on the pitch. Ada swapped beds with me that night, allowing me time alone to quietly celebrate her performance and the teams win. 

The Champions League final was spectacular. Not many Americans could say they completed in the tournament, let alone a final. My injury was a month before and I felt good, I felt ready. My performance in training gave me a starting position - one that would be close to my first start for the US. 10 minutes in, I was building my game, collecting good passes and tackles. 20 minutes in, a ball for my thigh triggered a twinge. That twinge led to me on the ground, frowning at the betrayal of my body. I wanted to play for a long as I could, but I knew and the the trainers knew that my time was over. She stood by me as the trainers got me off the floor. She patted my shoulder as I moved off the pitch, exposing my left thigh as the trainers wrapped it with layers of bandage and tape. This was proved useless as I never set foot on the pitch again. Thomas was subbed in for me. 

Once in my seat I had unwrapped my leg and watched intensely as the game ended up 0-0, just like the Coupe De France. I’ve been on teams that have been a part of some games, important games, that ended in penalty kicks. The US lost against Japan to pks, Portand Thorns won the first ever NWSL trophy on pks, the US lost in the Olympic quarterfinals against Sweden to pks. However I had hope, Lyon are exceptional at penalty picks. I held my breath as one by one, my teammates took their turns. At the eighth round, Lyon and PSG were still level. Those on the bench had gathered on the sidelines, gripping onto each other as the PSG goalkeeper took a pk, and missed. Sarah Bouhaddi took a turn straight after, the ball slotted into the left corner and the stadium erupted. Lyon had completed the double treble, I had won a treble. 

When we were collecting our medals I couldn’t stop myself from wrapping my arms around her. We were beside each other for the whole event, and were still by each other on the way to St Tropez. The club, the players, they all gave me one of the best experiences of my life - she made it even better. 

Hours before my flight back to the US, I laid in bed. I didn’t want to leave, but I had to. The soft sigh from my left, fingers drawing circles on my arm that was holding her, the heavenly scent of her rich blonde hair pulling me closer as I buried my face in her neck. I wished to stay, to stay with her. 

“Alex?” 

“Yeah?”

“We will find each other again.” She turned in my arms and stared into my eyes. “Don’t let them keep you from what you want in life mon amour.” She brought her hand to my cheek, her thumb rubbing under my eye softly. 

“My life is better with you.” I closed the gap between us and kissed her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For now, I am back in the US, waiting in line with a different coloured kit and different players. I will walk into the pitch and compete for another trophy. Everything around me will be my home. For now, I am one one of the Pride - but my real home…

is back there with her.


	2. Until Next Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all made up, purely for entertainment. Hope you readers enjoy though.

Being back in my home country was comforting. I was closer to my parents, friends, and the national team - but still I knew something, or someone, was missing. 

We spoke regularly over the phone, facetiming or skyping whenever we can, sending each other messages - her on her summer workouts and days with her family, me on my training and games. Of course, sometimes when a game wasn’t on too late, she would watch them, capitalising her letters when I did something good, or if I was fouled. If I had a good game than she send words of praise, or it was a bad game, she would send words of comfort and understanding. When the Euros took place, I watched as many of her games as I could. She was phenomenal. I wished to have gone to support her, but she told me to stay put, that she wanted me to focus on the Pride and that she already had my support. Obviously during the tournament we spoke less, but we made the most of the time we did have. Although, I could tell something was up - I just didn’t know what.

We had a game against Chicago that day of the Euros final. I felt guilty for missing her game, but a phone call and a small meeting later, I was focused on the job at hand. The game was in Orlando, held in one of the greatest soccer stadiums in the country - the Pride's home. I pulled on my uniform and gathered in the tunnel, for the coming three matches, this is where we would be. 

After the game I had driven to my house and tiredly watched a replay of France v Norway. It was always interesting to watch club players play against each other on the national level. Ada and Eugenie had both pushed their attacks well, but at the end only one country would hold up the trophy. I texted them both separately, congratulating them on their performances before falling asleep, not noticing I had received a reply. 

By the time I had woken up and showered, it was already 11am. We didn’t have training until the next day, but I still wanted to get some work in and went into my makeshift gym. My phone was dead so I had put it on charge, before retrieving my laptop and had one of her playlists blaring through the connected speakers. After an hour, I stopped and located my phone to check any messages. Seeing her name, I opened it first.

I saw the highlights and you played amazing mon amour. I have to go now, Je vous verrai bientôt.

Now as I was in the US, my french had kind of been pushed to one side, having difficulty learning on my own. I quickly drove around her my french dictionary, then realising I could just use google translate, and typed in the four words into the box. I will see you soon. What? I had pondered on what she could have meant by that, or even if it was meant for me at all. But then a ridiculous notion popped into my head - maybe she was coming to visit. I wanted to ask if it was true, but I didn’t know what she would see the text. Maybe she was just going out for a while and mixed the action with another.

For the rest of that day, and the next, we hardly spoke. I couldn’t dwell on it too much whilst at training, but I didn’t even know where she was. I asked, she said she had been spending time with her french teammates before they flew back to their respective destinations. I didn’t question. 

The next day I was brought out of my breakfast by the doorbell. Confused, I opened it and froze, not knowing what to do or say. She was here. The rest of the morning was spent in the bedroom, reacquainting ourselves with each others bodies. I smiled into her neck when she tightened around me, her hands gripping my shoulders, and kissed her softly, both panting. 

She must have called Tom about the visit as he let her train with us. The sessions were spent giving each other goofy grins, whilst the players around us gave suspicious looks. At the end, we had a light scrimmage - she was on my team. Being able to play with her made me realise just how much I missed playing with her. I knew then more than ever that I had a lot of thinking to do. 

She trained with us for the rest of the week. Some players, mostly the rookies, were benefiting from an extra world class player training with them. I was proud to say I had the pleasure of playing with such a phenomenal professional and person, and I was even more happy to find she would be staying with me until she needed to go back to Lyon.The two off days we received after the game were spent showing her around Orlando. I wanted to have her all to myself at home, but I couldn’t be a terrible host, after all, she was on vacation. The places we didn’t have time for, she visited whenever I had training. I would scroll through my messages, looking at the different pictures she would take at each location. When I arrived back to the house, we both uploaded pictures together, of us, she wanted people to see that she was visiting her favourite American. I didn’t mind, I enjoyed being able to upload selfies of us, but I loved taking pictures of her, calm and content.

The next home game was against Sky Blue. Having her in training helped me feel more comfortable after re-injuring my hamstring. When the Pride lined up with the other team, I could spot her in the crowd. Though we still hadn’t come out to anyone - we weren’t hiding, but I guess some people were oblivious - she still insisted on wearing my jersey, wanting my name on her back in support. I had tried really hard to keep myself from grinning madly, I was excited to play in front of her. Many fans even recognised her, she had ended up between a group of kids who were intensely watching the game, though asking her questions about my time in France. When the game ended, I had walked over there to sign things for each of the kids, helping her answer questions when she got a bit confused with English. Cheekily, I had asked if she wanted me to sign her jersey. She had giggled and turned around, showing my jersey number which I signed inside the number 1. The kids asked for her signature too, before they had to leave with the adults. 

She would leave a few days later, so I surprised her with tickets to Disney World. We had spent the day going on as many rides as we could, before having back home to star gaze in the garden. I had brought blankets for us to cover ourselves with from the evening Florida breeze. Having her close in my arms, her head on my shoulder, I wanted it to last forever. She had fallen asleep before I realised the time, and carefully, I carried her to bed, following her to sleep. 

The last day, I wanted to make it special. I had found a nice dress of hers in my wardrobe from when she had unpacked, and told her to wear it as I wanted to take her out for dinner. When the evening came, we took a cab down to a nice little restaurant. The whole time there, we spoke about anything, from soccer and family, to what we wanted to achieve in life. It felt like our first time dining in Lyon, where we were both so nervous and excited, and ending up seeing how much we had in common, and how comfortable I was around her. That evening was also the first time we had kissed, before that it was many kisses on the cheek when no one was looking. Ada was one of the first people to suggest something was happening between us - she was now one of my closest friends. 

The trip to the airport was agonising. I had helped her pack her bags and took her to a nice little coffee shops that opened early for breakfast before driving her to the airport. None of us moved when I turned off the engine in the car park. Instead, she slotted her hand into mine and squeezed, sitting in silence. After about 20 minutes I sighed, being the one to force ourselves to move. I took out her bags from the car and pulled the suitcase along. She found my hand again.

Once her suitcase had been taken, she turned and gripped onto her shirt, her face in my neck. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and kissed her hair, my eyes closed. I knew that I needed to let her go at some point, but hearing her sniffles made me pull her closer - tears had began to fall down my cheeks. After A few more minutes, she brought her face from my neck, her eyes and face slightly red. I wiped away the tear stains with the sleeve of unzipped hoodie.

“Je t’aime, ma belle fille.” I brought my finger under her chin, lifting her head to look into her eyes and leaned in to kiss her, a long single kiss, filling it with everything I felt for her. 

She then rested her hand on my cheek when we separated and whispered, “Until next time, mon amour.”

Watching her walk away sealed my decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used google translate for almost everything in french.
> 
> The ending is a bit pants because I didn't know how to end it, so that was the best I could think of.


	3. Shall We?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly late but here it is! There is a very slight show of Ada/Maro

The next few weeks after she left back to France, I fell back into the same routine - wake up, read messages from her, go to training, go home, read messages from her. The cycle went over and over, not that I minded, speaking to her was the best part of my day.There were some moments when I did something different, usually when it involved teammates, or when Ali and Ashlyn invited me out with them. 

One off day, I had sat at home watching a blurry stream of Lyon playing. I wore her jersey and had took a selfie of myself and the computer and uploaded it onto an instagram story. During halftime, the doorbell rang and I had opened it to find Ali standing there with some pizza. Puzzled, I had let her come in and we sat at the counter eating pizza and watching the second half. 

The game ended with a Lyon win and I sent her and the other girls congratulations before finding out why Ali had come. Until then, I had kept quiet, only speaking when something happened on screen. She of course did the same, complimenting the players and such. The game ended as we finished the last slices of pizza.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see how you were doing since Eugenie left.”

“Oh. I’m fine. It was a nice surprise.”

“She seems lovely, I can see why you’re close.”

“She’s amazing…” I paused, watching Ali watch me, “What?”

Ali turned her whole body to me and sat up straight.” Alex, is there anything going on between you two?”

“Why do you ask?”

“You seem sad, almost lost without her around.”

“No one knows yet, not even our parents … but yes. We have been dating since February.”

“February? You only sent over in January, you know how to get a girl fast.”

I laughed, “What can I say. Seriously though, I’ve always felt this attraction towards her. At the U-20 World Cup in 2008, to me she was the most amazing player there. She was quite intimidating, and being on the same team allowed us to get to know each other. I thought she was the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, still is.”

“Will you be going back to Lyon when the NWSL season is over?”

“Would you be mad if I said I plan to?”

“Ashlyn moved to Germany to be with me, then followed me to Washington. I’ll be behind you 100% in whatever decision you make. Don’t let the fans, or US Soccer get in the way of your relationship, but I think you should tell them why you want to leave the league.”

“I will. I called Tom and Jill yesterday, Aulas already knows. She is coming down next week for a meeting about what I want to do.”

“Does Eugenie know?”

“No, I’d like for it to be a surprise, but I want to talk to her about coming out, officially. The fans already believe we are, and the journalists are speculating whether anything is going on. I just … I would like to show off the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

“Have you spoken about marriage?”

“It’s only been 6 months, I don’t know if she’s thought about marriage.”

“You should ask her what she thinks.”

We stayed there, talking for the rest of the afternoon about our relationships before Ashlyn arrived, demanding that we go out for the evening. So that’s what we did. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the meeting had come around, I was sure that they would disagree, that I would be forced to give up playing on the national team whilst I wasn’t in the NWSL. The meeting was held in Orlando’s stadium, I was the first to arrive as the nerves kept me from leaving the house later. A little while later, both Tom and Jill had arrived, he must have picked her up. I gave them both a hug and Tom led us into his office.

I had to explain why I wanted to leave, which meant I had to tell them about her. They were obviously surprised, not ones for getting into rumours that go around.

“Are you sure that this is what you want?” Tom asked, “You could go back on loan.”

I shook my head, “I’m sure. I loved playing there. The environment, the players, it’s where I felt at my best. And I want to play on the same field with her, not thousands of miles apart.”

Jill, who was sat next to me, spoke up for the first time. “It will be a challenge for you to keep going back and forth across the ocean for national duty. Are you prepared for it to be permanent?”

“Yes. There are many international players in the NWSL that have that challenge, some live even further than Europe. I’m willing to make that effort for national team duty.” 

By the end they understood my decision, and were supportive. Jill said she would need to speak with some people higher up, and Tom reluctantly said okay. At the end of the meeting, I walked out smiling at what was to come. We all agreed on keeping my transfer a secret from the media until I was back in France and with her, so that I could talk to her about the possibility of telling the whole truth on my move to the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Orlando Pride had made it into the playoff spots after a battle for the fourth spot against the Reign. A goal from Marta and two from me sealed our place in the fight for the trophy. I wanted to help this team win the championship I permanently left. The team were told a few weeks ago about me leaving at the end of the season, understandably some were upset, but everyone knew I would give my all to the pride until the end. Ali had stood near me when I announced it, giving me a knowing smile. I had told them about her, having asked her for permission during our free day, her smile warming my heart through a slightly pixelated screen. Ashlyn was one of the few surprised, even more so when she realised Ali knew already. The three Aussies had already known as well, admitting that they saw us kissing during one of the training sessions she took part in with us.

The Pride had Portland Thorns during the playoffs. The game was filled with hard tackles and fouls from both sides, no one wanted to be sent out of the championship. Frustratedly, I was on the receiving end of many fouls, particularly from my national teammates. During halftime, I semi-listened to Tom when my eyes caught my phone lighting up. It was her sending her love and belief in me. I smiled and began tuning in to the end of Tom’s speech, before following my teammates into the tunnel and onto the pitch. When the final whistle blew, the Pride had won 3-2. 

The family had driven up to Orlando for the final. I hadn’t had the chance to meet up with them but we spoke over the phone, listening to them tell me how proud they are. No matter how many games I played, it always always a blessing to hear my parents get excited and telling me how much they loved me and were proud. I was seeing them the next day for a meal, that is if I had won - if I lost then my company would have been beer and wallowing into the laptop camera to her. 

Everyone was anxiously waiting in the waiting room, wanting to get out there and prove that they were championship worthy, that they were in it to win it. I too wanted to prove something, that the team deserved the title. They aimed to prove to everyone who criticised and doubted that they would even get out of the bottom half of the league that they were good enough, and they were. I walked into the tunnel knowing I would help those ladies win.

90 minutes of game time later and we were champions. 

I walked around the pitch with Ali and Steph, waving to the fans with our large champion shirts on. Crowds of purple screamed and cheered as they waved back. Slowly, we had walked over to the mini stage that had been put on the pitch, laughing and smiling, talking about what was happening. I watched, smiling as my teammates walked up to receive their medals, with each player’s name called out, the crowd cheered. The crowd gave another cheer when my name was called, I shook hands with the people in suits and received my medal, walking over to my teammates with it around my neck. Once everyone was on stage, the trophy was given to Ashlyn and I. We grinned, our faces aching from the excitement and threw the trophy up high as the stadium erupted. 

Later, I had gone to find my family and took pictures with them, with my medal and the trophy, before going around signing things for fans. It was only when the pride press guy motioned for me to come over that I stopped and headed over there.

“So Alex, incredible moment. Winning your second NWSL trophy, the first being with Portland back in 2013. You must be feeling pretty happy.”

“Of course. This team has worked so hard, in training and on the pitch, never taking no for an answer. We were there to push each other and they deserved to win tonight.”

“How did you feel coming into the final? We spoke with Ali Krieger just a while ago and she said she was confident that the team would do their job.”

“Honestly I felt nervous, but focused in what i needed to do. I was determined to end this NWSL year in a success and to help this team to a win, and fortunately it happened. As I said before, this team has worked incredibly hard this year, taking a lot of bumps along the way. No one thought we would get out of the bottom half of the table, but here we are with a trophy.”

“Will you be taking what you’ve been doing the second half of the season and using those same methods for next year?”

“Hopefully the team will. It depends on where everyone is after pre season and whether those methods work next year but I’m positive they will aim to be back in the playoffs and hopefully in another final.”

“I’ve heard you’ve been saying ‘the team’ instead of ‘we’. Is Lyon back on the table?”

“I love this country and being close to my family and friends, and the experience I had in Lyon was amazing, so who knows.”

“If you do go, will you come back to the Pride once the french league finishes?”

“If it happens, maybe, maybe not. We will have to see.”

“Alright, thanks for talking with us Alex and we wish you luck on wherever you go.”

“Thanks.”

The post game celebrations still took place way after midnight. Everyone was still lively and buzzed, some dancing on the dance floor, some taking shots with each other, others were mixing in the crowd with their medals standing out around their necks. An arm had appeared around my shoulder and I looked to my left.

“Seeing what you’’ll be missing?” Ali shouted above the music, slightly bouncing on her toes to the music.

I half smiled and looked around the room. “I’ll miss everyone alright. This team is amazing, you’re amazing.” I pulled her close, hugging her with one arm. “Come visit me in France yeah?”

I felt Ali tighten her hold on me. “Of course! I’ll miss being street buddies Al. Come back to us one day.

“One day.” I squeezed her before letting her ago. We both chuckled, wiping our eyes before Steph and Ashlyn pulled us to the dance floor for a crazy rest of the night. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a party thrown the night before my parents took me to the airport, wishing me luck for the future. There were many tears and tight hugs being passed around, but I was still excited to be able to be with her again. 

Saying goodbye to my parents was even harder. We hugged each other tightly, promising to visit when we could. I took once last look at them, waving softly before catching my flight. I had slept for most of the journey. When the plane landed, it was early morning. I got to the entrance of the airport to find Ada standing there. I walked over to her smiling, she had returned one just as big when she spotted me and lifting me up in a hug. I told her how much I missed her, she did the same, before walking out to her car, which had Maro sitting in the front. The short drive was spent catching up, promising to meet up properly, before Ada stopped the car. I thanked them both, Ada especially for picking me up. She winked and gave me another hug, Maro following, before driving off. 

I looked at the house in front of me, breathing in deeply to try and calm down my beating heart. I was nervous, not knowing how she would react. My return wouldn’t be in the media until she knew everything. I walked up to the house I had been dreaming about for the last six months and braced myself. I knocked three times, a few moments later, the door opening.

“Hi…”


	4. Say Yes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This only took me around a day to write so I apologise if it sucks.

A week after surprising her, we had sat with a journalist, one that worked closely with the women’s Lyon team, on my return and our relationship - though only I was sat with the journalist in the beginning. The course of the interview began with talking about the NWSL championship, then questions asked about my decisions to come back to Lyon. Thankfully, he spoke in English.

“You were playing for a team that you had just come back to, won a championship, and decided to come back. When did you know you wanted to?”

“Going back to the US, I knew I wanted to play in Europe again, it was whether or not I would do another six months or stay for longer.”

“We saw the post match interview from the final where you spoke about the possibility of returning to Lyon. What made you firmly decide that you would be coming back?”

“Leaving a place where you find yourself again, yourself within the sport you’ve dedicated your life to, I think that made me realise that yes, Lyon gave me back what I had lost within soccer. I had that ankle injury in the run up to the 2015 World Cup and I haven’t been as good, or at least found my full potential yet. In 2012 I was a Ballon d’Or finalist after such a great Olympics, but I haven’t been back to that stage since. Lyon is an amazing team, the greatest in women’s football and I loved it here. I played my best soccer in a long while with Lyon and these players are amazing to play with.”

“How did the process take place for you to come back to Lyon? Was it a simple email or a phone call?”

“Aulas had already given me another six month offer but also the option of a longer contract. I spoke to Tom, the Orlando Pride coach, as well as Jill Ellis to tell them what I wanted to do. Obviously, there was a lot more that goes on than saying ‘I would like to leave, thank you and goodbye’. Jill needed to talk to US Soccer about the possibility of allowing me to play overseas and such, but they were supportive. As soon as they gave me the okay, Aulas was called to give my decision and he was ecstatic.”

“Soccer takes up a big part of your life and there are decisions that need to be made around the sport, but soccer wasn’t the only reason you wanted to come back was it.”

“No it wasn’t. I was fortunate enough to get to know a lot of these players on the team and become quite close with some. I regularly spoke with Ada, Camille, Jessica and some others whilst in the States - but it was one person who helped me firmly say that I want to return.”

“Who was this person? Someone on the team or generally in Lyon?”

“One of the best players I have played against, and with, quickly found a home in my heart.”

That was when she sat next to me. We hadn’t told the crew why she was with me so everyone in the room was surprised when she sat down. The journalist looked at each of us, before a large smile grow on his face.

“Are you two together?”

Eugenie and I shared a soft, loving smile. “Nearly seven months now.”

“How did this happen? I admit out loud that I was hoping, with many many fans, that the interactions between the two of you were because of the possibility of there being a relationship.”

“We were around each other a lot because of both being forwards, and the whole time, I felt something move in my chest whenever I was near her and when she would smile at me. It was pretty intense.”

Eugenie laughed, the heavenly sound filling my ears. “I found during our first date that Alex had liked me back in 2008 during the U-20 World Cup. The US and French teams were staying in the same hotel, so everyone did cross paths with one another - I remember at one point we had ended up in the same elevator and Alex was a stuttering awkward mess, it was quite endearing.”

“Did you know about Alex’s move back here?”

“No, I knew she was thinking about the option of coming back but we hadn’t spoken about it much. I only found out when I opened my front door to find her with three suitcases behind her.” 

“So it was a surprise then.”

“Yes, yes a very big surprise. I cried a lot but I’m very happy to have her back here.”

She looked at me, and I could see how much my return was still affecting her. I had put my hand over hers on her leg and squeezed gently. The journalist watched us before asking another question.

“Alex, why did you want it to be a surprise.”

“I wanted to be the one to tell her face to face, rather than a phone call or for her to see it announced in papers or online. I thought she would like it so I just went for it. Ada Hegerberg and Dzsenifer Marozsan actually picked me up from the airport and brought me home.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The interview was released a day after my return to Lyon was publicly announced. The overall result was positive and a lot of people had wished me luck - though there were some who weren’t happy with me leaving the Pride, horrible comments were made but it was my career and I could go where I knew I was getting better at my game. The same could be said about the response to Eugenie and I. The majority were happy for us, sending many messages on social media about how we were ‘goals’. Club and national teammates were also supportive, Ada especially for knowing before everyone else, walking around looking smug until Maro gave her a look.

Being back with Lyon had me feeling content. I was playing playing at my best, I was currently the third highest goalscorer in the league, five behind Eugenie and two behind Ada. I was also back as a starter for the US after someone finally had a word with Jill after a shaky start of the 2019 World Cup Qualifiers - players who should have been getting called up were finally appearing on rosters and in games.

Although Lyon had lost the Coupe De France after an aggressive final against PSG, there were many questionable decisions made by the referee, we still finished top of the table and were in the final of the Champions League again - this time, against a fiery Bayern Munich who cruised past a sloppy play by Barcelona in the semi-finals. 

I watched her on the bikes, whilst sitting in the ice bath with Jessica and Seger after a training session a few days before the final. I fell out of the conversation next to me, as her legs rotated over and over again, dripping in sweat with she had bowed down, the gold beats headphones on secured over her ears. Our relationship was still going strong after a year, sometimes there were arguments ranging from drinking milk from the carton (my bad), to leaving laundry until the basket overflowed, some were about bigger things. Every so often, we would visit her parents who fortunately loved me - it was pretty scary in the beginning having so many brothers and sisters give me the protective older sibling talk. My parents had been able to fly over a few times, having them stay in the house and getting on well with her. 

Unfortunately, my parents weren’t able to fly over to watch me play in the final, but some US teammates came to watch. Everyone was focused and ready to retain our title from last year. The team walked out onto the pitch and I gave her a nod from we stood in front of each other on the halfway line, seconds away from kicking the ball. The whistle blew and the next 90 minutes were constantly intense - but at the final whistle, I watched in despair as she cried at the sight of red piling up on top of each other. I had wiped my face with my jersey and slowly walked over to her, patting Maro’s shoulder, who was holding a sobbing Ada, shaking hands of passing players, until I was finally close enough. She turned to find me standing there and defeated walked into my arms, her face buried in my chest. 

I kept my arm around her shoulder as we gathered by the platform. One by one, we walked with heavy steps up to shake some hands and end up on the other side with the weight of a silver medal. Not long after, we were all in the locker rooms, some were sobbing, some were quietly sitting there staring into space. The journey to the airport was the same - once on the flight, she and Ada had fallen asleep against each other. Maro had moved over to Josephine soon after and I was left staring out of the window until we landed in Lyon, where everyone separated, most were being picked up by relatives. The one’s left were driven home in a mini van - I gave a half hearted wave to those in the van when we stopped at our house. She walked straight into the house with her suitcase, left it in the hallway, and disappeared upstairs. I had sighed and left mine beside hers before following her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Many players had disappeared around the world for a much needed break. I took her on Holiday to get her away for a while. The two weeks were spent either at the beach or exploring. Slowly, the pain of the final disappeared as we lightly trained every morning - she was beginning to think about next season and we spoke about World Cup that was in a year. Being together would made it harder to play against each other during tournaments, but we would get through it when the time came.

The second to last night before we needed to fly back for pre-season, I took her out for a romantic meal, before taking a long relaxing walk along the shore through the late evening breeze. After a while, I put down a small blanket I had brought with me and we sat down, watching the sun slowly set. Before it disappeared, I repositioned myself to face her and kissed her softly. I felt her smile in the kiss and I pulled out a box before breaking the kiss.

“Marry me…”


	5. A World Cup Each

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had nothing else to do after the last chapter so wrote another to upload on the same day. Although, that is why it's quite short.

The wedding took place in my hometown in California that coming spring. She said it was a good idea seeing as my family always had to fly over to France. It was held in a closed of green overlooking the ocean, the chairs were wrapped in baby blue, lined up facing a white archway, where we had stood. We both wore knee length white dresses, but had different designs to suit our personal interests. 

 

There wasn’t a single dry eye during the ceremony. She opted to reading her vows in french whilst I read out mine in english - there were cards at every seat with translations for each of the families and friends. When we kissed, everyone cheered and clapped, having witnessed our bonding. I couldn’t help but let out a tear as I stared into her eyes, her warm stunningly blue eyes staring back at me lovingly. We walked back down the aisle and into a room for some privacy before the reception. I kissed her again when we were inside and took another look at her dress, she was beautiful. She grasped my hand and kissed the ring that now rested on my finger and grinned, “mon beau.”

 

We walked into a grand hall and were met by friends and family cheering again. We went around the room receiving congratulations and thanking each of them for coming. We had then been called to the dance floor for the first dance. The lights went down and I wrapped my arms around her waist, her arms around my neck, as the music started and we slowly swayed as people watched. Only she was in my mind, who I was focused on. She had her eyes closed, forehead close to my lips whilst she rubbed the hairs on my neck with her thumb. 

 

The party livened up after that, the DJ was beasting out a mix of french and english songs as people jumped on the dance floor. We separated and had pictures taken with our teammates from our national teams, as well as club teammates. The photographer brought together my bridesmaids and such for pictures. When that was done, my maid of honour had given me a tight hug. 

 

“I’m so happy I was chosen to be your maid of honour,” Ali boosted. 

 

Ashlyn rolled her eyes and patted a sulking Tobin on the shoulder. “Don’t worry dude, your can be mine okay?” That immediately lightened up the bridesmaids eyes. 

 

“Seriously?”

 

“Of course, you’re my surf buddy.”

 

“OI! I thought I was your surf buddy?” My other bridesmaid exclaimed, glaring at the two.

 

“Sorry Kelley, you can be my second one.”

 

Kelley huffed but moved to hug me. “Your wife is looking for you by the way, the photographer wants you two the swap places. You need pictures taken with her group.”

 

When the main pictures were taken, as well as ones with family, the party slowly moved out into the garden, where the lights covering the bushes and trees, and surrounding the plants, were glistening in the night. We didn’t leave for our honeymoon until the early hours of the morning.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The 2019 World Cup had quickly arrived, leaving me with little time to communicate with my wife. Months had gone by and I still couldn’t believe I got the girl of my dreams, but I had to stay focused on helping to lead the US into the final. Afterall, I was now co captain with Tobin. 

 

We safely finished top of the group table, and successfully got into the semi-finals. The US were going against Norway in the fight to stay in the tournament. I had got one past the keeper in the first half, and then a second straight after half time. However, before full time, Norway had found a way to get two goals past us - one each for the Hegerberg sisters. Extra time came and we were pushing to get a goal, the keeper had saved my last few shots and suddenly the Norwegian players were racing towards our goal. Gasps were heard over the cheers as a goal was scored seconds before the whistle blew. 

 

The reigning championships were out of the World Cup. 

 

I congratulated Ada with a heavy heart and a sob stuck in my throat. She pulled me close and kissed my head for a moment before letting me go. I walked over with the rest of my teammates and clapped to the US fans that had come out to see us. By the time I had stopped crying, I was on the bus back to the hotel. 

 

Everyone sat in the conference room in silence, though there were some still crying, trying to hold in the noise to no avail. Emily Sonnett was the first to speak. “So...what is everyone going to do now?”

 

Ashlyn held onto a weeping Ali and looked over at me. I sighed and rubbed my eyes, “We do our job and make sure to win the third place match. Germany lost to France, and I plan to stay to watch the final for Eugenie.” 

 

The next training lesson allowed everyone to quickly get back on track. The third place match had come right around the corner and the next thing I knew I was back leading the US out onto the pitch. I brushed my hand on the captain's armband on my left arm, down to my hand where white tape was wrapped around my wedding finger, and then back up to rest it on the US crest as our anthem began. I took a deep breath once it ended and shook hands with the german players, before getting into position. 

 

The game ended in a 3-1 victory to the US.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I sat in the crowded stadium with our family as we waited for the players to come out. I rubbed my thumb along my ring talking to one of her sisters when the music began to play. The stadium stood to walk France and Norway walk out and line up, ready for the national anthems. France went second, being the host country - I sang along in my own Le Sommer french jersey, watching the players. When the referee started the game, time began to move very quickly. 

 

Camille, the oldest veteran on the team, brought France into the lead just before the second half. Norway found a goal around the 70th minute. I gripped onto the edge of my seat that the whistle blew for fulltime - the decider would come from a penalty shoot out. Both teams score the first two pks, Norway walked up to start the third round and their ball was saved - she was next, I held my breath as she walked up, and let up a strangled cheer when the ball flew into the corner. Norway walked up to take the next and scored, but if France scored, they were the new World Cup champions. 

 

Camille walked up the the penalty spot. Everyone around the stadium was silent as she back away from the ball. As if by slow motion, we all watched as the ball sailed past the keeper’s hands and we screamed, watching France jump ontop of each other in celebration in front of us - we had sat in the front beside the corner of the home end. I hugged everyone around me, keeping an eye out for her, and grinned when she came running over, jumping onto the railings. “ Mon Champion du Monde,” I shouted over the noise of the crowd as she held onto my shoulders, before kissing me. That picture would circle the media for next few weeks. 

 

I let her go for the family could hug her, then she ran back onto the pitch for the ceremony. I grinned as I watched my wife receive her gold medal, and jump as the trophy was lifted high in the air. I had been crushed on our semi-final loss, but watching her winning on the biggest stage, winning her country’s first ever women’s World Cup title at home, took away any pain I had felt. My wife was a World Cup champion and I was ecstatic for her.


	6. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually had fun with this story so it's good to have it completed. Sorry for any errors.

 

Before the World Cup, we had spoken about starting a family. The process actually took place a few days before the tournament started. Eugenie wanted to carry our first child, so we had gone to a clinic and had my egg inseminated with the sperm inside her womb so that the baby would be biologically mine. We didn’t find out that it had worked on the first go until after the World Cup. 

 

Both club and national team were told, and she stopped playing a month later. Although she was no longer an active player, she still came with me to training to get in some workouts approved by the trainers. The weeks flew by quickly, I had to keep flying out on national team duty which meant I couldn’t help as much as I wanted. When I was home, our time was spent looking through baby catalogs and converting one of the spare rooms into a baby room. 

 

I would find Ada in the house more often than usual. Sometimes I would find Maro at the front door asking if she was there again. They ended up helping with the list of everything that was needed, and set up a baby shower - the team, friends and her family were invited. We had another one when we flew to California to visit my family during the new year. As we lived in France, most of the relatives and friends had gifts they ordered shipped back there so that we didn’t have the worry about luggage. We spent most of the time with my parents, I was forgotten about more than once as everyone crowded everyone Eugenie to feel her growing belly. 

 

Eugenie didn’t fly with me to the SheBelieves tournament as she was close to eight months pregnant. I wished that she was there, but I knew she needed as much rest as possible. I also knew that Ada was looking after her whilst I was away. 

 

“How’s the wife?” Ashlyn sat down next to me and asked, stuffing her face into her breakfast. It was mid week into the tournament and everyone was slowly pottering into the room for breakfast. 

 

I grimaced at the mess her made around her plate. “She’s doing good, she’s complaining about not being able to do much. Ada said she’s been taking more naps during the day.”

 

“The due date is soon right?” Ali slid into a seat next to Ashlyn before making a face. “Babe don’t be such an animal.” Ashlyn sheepishly slowed down her eating, putting smaller portions in her mouth.

 

“Yeah, I’m so excited, but a little nervous. I won’t be there much to help but she still wants me to go to Tokyo.” I finished in time for Kelley’s loud entrance. 

 

She came over to the table and sat down. “What are you guys talking about?” She asked, before taking a gulp of milk. 

 

“Eugenie.”

 

“Do you have a name for the little one yet?”

 

“Yes but we are keeping it a secret, just like the sex of the baby.” I raised an eyebrow and she sighed, knowing that after all this time I still wouldn’t budge. unfortunately, this didn’t stop her from pestering me for the rest of the tournament. During an off day, I had been facetiming Eugenie when Kelley stumbled into the room with Emily. 

 

Eugenie looked confused at the noise and asked me who it was. “It’s only Kelley and Emily babe,” was all I could get out before Kelley snatched my phone and proceeded to talk to the screen. Glaring, I jumped around the room to try and get it back, only stopping when Eugenie shouted. 

 

“You are such children. Why do you continue to bother each other?”

 

I smirked at a suspicious looking Kelley,” Kelley here has been trying to find ways on getting me to tell her the sex and name of the baby.” She eyes widened as a furious looking pregnant woman began to chastise her.

 

I went home with a SheBelieves medal, being met at the door by my beautifully glowing pregnant wife. I swooped her into my arms and greeted her with a long kiss, then gathered my bags and carried them upstairs to our room with her following. We spent the day laying in bed - when she fell asleep I kissed her exposed shoulder and went downstairs to make dinner. By the time dinner was finished, a yawning Eugenie waddled into the kitchen to help. I kissed her hair and gently ordered her to sit down, before putting a plate in front of her, smiling fondly as her attention became solely focused on the food.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I was out on the training pitch during a session with the other forwards when the coach blew his whistle repeatedly from the other side of the field, jogging towards me.

 

“Eugenie is in labour!”

 

Everyone started shouting as I ran to the car park where one of the stuff was already waiting for me. I got into the back of the car when the driver told me that they was a fresh pair of clothes in a bag, whilst the others were demanded to stay and get changed. Before he took off, the door opened again to reveal Ada pushing her way into the car. The car quickly drove off and I shedded my shirt and shorts, then wiped my body with a towel that was also in the bag before awkwardly pulled on clean track bottoms and shirt, hitting multiple parts of my body as the car turned corners. 

 

We got to the hospital in record time and I pushed my way to the reception desk, rapidly speaking in french, my American accent prominent. Ada had to stay in the waiting room but a nurse showed me to way to my wife’s room. I slowed at the door and the nurse left for me to open it. I took a deep breath, before knocking. I heard a tired call for me to come in and I opened it. 

 

Lying with a grimace, holding her stomach, was Eugenie. Our eyes met and I melted at the sight, walking over to her side to grasp her hand. I brought her left hand to my lips and kissed her ring as a contraction hit her. She groaned, trying to breath out the pain.

 

It wasn’t long before the midwives came into the room to announce that it was time to push. I stayed by her side as she started to push, getting screamed at by her when I had a peak between her legs to see the top of the baby’s head sticking out. I winced as her grip on my hand tightened through her painful grunts and screams until her head dropped onto the pillow, panting heavily as the room filled with wails of a newborn. 

 

I stared in wonder as they gently put the baby into my arms. She gurgled, her little hands rubbing at her cheeks as she opened her eyes. Tears filled my eyes as they stared up at me, one hand reaching up. I softly kissed the fingers and whispered in french, “I think your mamam wants to see you too.” I laid them into her arms, beaming as she cried. We looked at each other with love filled eyes and I bent down to kiss her. 

 

After a few more minutes, I walked down to the waiting room, which was now filled with teammates and both sets of parents on Ada and Maro's phones. The conversations stopped as they spotted me by the door and Ada jumped off Maro's lap and stopped in front of me. 

 

“Well?”

 

“It’s a girl.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

For the second time in my lifetime, I was standing with my teammates as we sang the national anthem in an Olympic final. I had flashbacks of London, then of Rio - this time we were not leaving without gold. France had won Bronze just hours before, now it was our turn to play, to beat the nation that ruined our dreams in Rio. We shook the hands with Sweden before getting into position, ready to play the game of the year.

 

20 minutes in, the US had an opportunity to score. I received the ball from Moe and ran down the left, spotting Mal running towards the box. I crossed the ball, watching it curl into the pass of Mal, who hit it with her head passed the keeper. We quickly hugged before getting back into the game.

 

At halftime, we walked into the locker room in high spirits. I sat down as the coach began to talk. Moe sat next to me and I spoke quietly, “Nice pass.” 

 

She smiled and knocked my fist with hers, “Nice assist.”

 

We went back out, the cheered cheering as we got ready to start the second half. Unfortunately, an obvious dive from a Swedish player near the end of the game was not obvious in the eyes of the referee, who instantly held up a red card to Alyssa. Outrage filled the stadium and pitch as the ref was swarmed by players. The ref didn’t budge and the coach quickly motioned me to the sidelines, shoving injured Jane Campbell’s gloves into my hands. “Get into goal.”

 

The staff strapped the gloves on me, whilst I wondered why I was the one to take Alyssa’s place, but I didn’t waste any time in getting into goal. I shook my legs as the stadium fell silent and jumped, waving my arms to loosen them up. I took a deep breath as the seconds left of the game counted down and dived.

 

The stadium erupted, I had saved the US.

 

I was jumped by teammates, laughing and crying as they screamed in my ear ‘you did it’, ‘we won’. I couldn’t stop grinning as I hugged everyone and shook hands of the silver medalists. We then did a lap around the pitch for the fans and applauded their support. I found our family during the lap and started to cry when I saw her crying with baby girl in her arms. I quickly went to her, giving her and our child a kiss before hugging each sets of parents, siblings and friends.

 

At the end of the evening, a post was uploaded of me with my family, with it saying underneath ‘Famille <3\. Little Kelly at her first tournament!’

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

We had three more children after Tokyo, I took the year off to gave birth to a boy called Andre - Eugenie retired after the 2025 European Championships to birth to fraternal twins, Louise and Thomas.

 

I took part in two more Olympics and two more World Cups before retiring at 39 years old, ending my career in 2027 with three gold medals, one silver, and two World Cup titles - my club credentials included five more Champions league titles, eight league titles and six cup titles. I knew that I didn’t want to completely leave the sport so I had turned to coaching, starting out as an assistant for the u-20 french girls youth team before becoming head coach. 

 

I stayed there until gaining the position of the assistant of the French women’s national team, this upgraded to the head coach position, leading them to a European gold, World Cup final and Olympic gold. Surprisingly, I was offered to join the mens Olympique Lyonnais staff. I made history by ending up managing the team, winning two Ligue 1 titles, one cup title and one Champions League title in five years, before retiring at 59. 

 

Eugenie became a school soccer coach until Kelly left for college and became the assistant coach for Lyon. She then became the head coach and lead the team to six consecutive Champions League titles, four league titles and four cup titles. 

 

All of our children were invested into sport. Kelly became a track athlete, competing in international tournaments until she retired and became a history teacher. Andrew went to the US and became a sensation in the NBA. The love for football grew with the twins, both competing in the youth national teams until being selected for the senior teams. Louise chose France and won a World Cup, and gold and silver medal, whilst Thomas followed his American roots and played for the US, making history by winning a World Cup. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending may be too unrealistic but that's the point with fanfiction. Hope you all liked it :)


End file.
